Help me quiet a casetek CK1007 (mini atx system)

maxheadroom · Post by **maxheadroom** » Thu Sep 09, 2004 6:05 am

Hi,

This is a tricky one. I'm fairly sure this system will never be "silent", but hopefully I can get it below "tornado" levels

The system has a number of restrictions which make quieting it difficult. These are primarily:

The case. It is a mini-atx, "tiny tower" case. It has a 60mm fan opening on the back and space for a 60mm fan behind the front bezel. Airflow in it is atrocious. I am willing to make modifications to the case, but would like to keep it looking as close to stock as possible.
Front of Case
Only intake on front of case (area marked in red on previous pic)
Back of Case
Front, with removable bezel pieces removed
Case assembly guide, technical drawings of case

The motherboard
The mobo is an ECD K7SOM+. It has a non-upgradeable, AMD Duron 1300MHZ CPU surface mounted. There is no CPU socket. Fitting a new heatsink will be difficult due to this. It also runs very hot.
Top down view of motherboard
Close up of CPU area 1
Close up of CPU area 2

The PSU. It is a bog-standard, SFX power supply. It is loud. I'll probably need to do a fan mod on it. I haven't opened up the PSU yet, but I'd imagine I'll need an 80x80x15 mm fan for it.

I have a 60mm Papst fan which is reasonably quiet if I put a fan mate on it and run it at about 1900 - 2200 RPM. The PSU fan clicks all the time, and has loud "wind" noise.
The CPU fan is really loud. Also, the heatsink is alumninum only and quite small.

I need suggestions for mods to improve airflow, a CPU cooler that I might be able to adapt to fit, and what to do about the PSU.

Thanks in advance,

MH

Tibors · Post by **Tibors** » Thu Sep 09, 2004 9:52 am

The grill on the back exhaust fan is horrible. Cut it out. If the flow/noise ratio of the 60mm fan is not good enough, then put a 60 to 80 mm adapter on the outside of the case and put a good 80mm fan on that.

The front intake is hopeless, it can hardly be improved. So instead put the case on taller feet and make a (passive) bottom intake. Drill a lot of wholes in the bottom. Or if dust is a problem, cut two 80mm wholes in the bottom and put dust filters over them.

Changing the fan in the PSU sounds like a good plan.

Use only a notebook harddisk or compact flash as storage. They produce less heat than a 3.5" hardddisk and are generally more silent.

maxheadroom · Post by **maxheadroom** » Wed Sep 22, 2004 2:33 am

Had a chance to do something with this yesterday. I decided to route all the cables as well as I could. I also sleeved the PSU cables, and cut the fan grill off the psu.

The PSU fan is a SuperRed CHA8012CS-MA (DC 12V 0.17A). Its an 80x15mm fan, and there's no room for a thicker fan. All the reccommended fans are 25mm thick. Can anyone reccomend a reasonably quiet fan to use here?

Tibors · Post by **Tibors** » Wed Sep 22, 2004 7:17 am

If there is about 10mm spare space on the outside of the PSU, then you could try something like Bluefront's Fortron Mod. Part of a 80x25mm would be inside the PSU and part of it outside the PSU.

Post by **MikeC** » Wed Sep 22, 2004 7:31 am

Tibors wrote:If there is about 10mm spare space on the outside of the PSU, then you could try something like Bluefront's Fortron Mod. Part of a 80x25mm would be inside the PSU and part of it outside the PSU.

Mounting a quiet fan on the outside is often quieter than when it mounted inside. Has to do with cavity resonance of the air in the case being less affected. It made a significant audible difference in a Shuttle mod.